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Wisdom Verses

Twameva Mata Cha Pita Twameva, You Are Everything to Me

त्वमेव माता च पिता त्वमेव त्वमेव बन्धुश्च सखा त्वमेव ।

त्वमेव विद्या द्रविणं त्वमेव त्वमेव सर्वं मम देवदेव ॥

Tvam eva mātā ca pitā tvam eva tvam eva bandhuś ca sakhā tvam eva

Tvam eva vidyā draviṇaṃ tvam eva tvam eva sarvaṃ mama deva-deva

You alone are mother and father, you alone are kinsman and friend, you alone are knowledge and wealth, you alone are everything to me, O god of gods.

Pāṇḍava Gītā

EasyAges 5+2 lines
Understanding it

Word by word

A shloka a child understands is a shloka they keep. Here is what each word is actually doing.

त्वमेवtvam evayou alone
माताmātāmother
पिताpitāfather
बन्धुःbandhuḥkinsman
सखाsakhāfriend
विद्याvidyāknowledge
द्रविणंdraviṇaṃwealth
देवदेवdeva-devaO god of gods
When to chant it

As a daily prayer, at the close of a puja, and at moments when a child needs reassurance.

What it gives a child
  • Simple vocabulary, mother, father, friend, that children already know
  • The repeated “tvam eva” makes it very easy to learn
  • Comforting, which makes it useful at difficult moments
  • Widely used in school prayers across India
Almost every word in this verse is one a small child already understands in their own language, mother, father, friend, knowing things. That makes it an unusually good verse for teaching meaning and Sanskrit at the same time, and the rocking repetition of “tvam eva” does most of the memorisation work.
Teaching note, Smriti Samskara mentors
Learn it properly

Shloka Classes

Reading a shloka and chanting it correctly are different things. In our live online classes a mentor corrects your child’s pronunciation in the moment, teaches the meaning alongside the sound, and builds a repertoire verse by verse. Ages 4-14 · 45 min · Weekly.

Questions parents ask

You alone are my mother and father, you alone my kinsman and friend, you alone knowledge and wealth, you alone are everything to me, O god of gods.

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Teach your child Twameva Mata, properly

A free, no-obligation trial class with a real mentor. Correct pronunciation, the meaning behind every word, and a practice that lasts.

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